Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a method for displaying information and operating a mobile device, not directly assigned to a motor vehicle, via an electronic unit with a display and operating device of a motor vehicle.
Description of the Background Art
The connection of a mobile device, for instance, a mobile telephone or a portable MP3 player, to electronic devices of the motor vehicle is known in the conventional art. Thus, mobile telephones can be connected to a speaker phone in the vehicle; mobile MP3 players can be connected to play back music stored in the mobile device on the vehicle's audio system. Such connections can be realized, for example, wirelessly by means of Bluetooth. It is likewise known to provide control elements for operating the mobile devices, e.g., for accepting an incoming call or for regulating the playback volume. These control elements can be located, for example, on the center console or on a steering wheel of a vehicle.
Furthermore, the connection of mobile devices, e.g., smartphones or PDAs, to a display and operating device of a motor vehicle in the so-called “terminal mode” is known from the state of the art (industry standard “Terminal Mode Technical Architecture,” Release Version 1.0, www.terminalmode.org). Many programs, often called “apps,” can be executed on mobile devices of the aforementioned type. If the mobile device in the terminal mode is coupled to the operating and display device of the motor vehicle, the program itself is executed further on the mobile device. The displaying, however, occurs by means of the display device of the motor vehicle and the operation of the program occurs by means of the operating device of the motor vehicle. Suitable data transmission techniques such as, e.g., USB, WLAN, or Bluetooth are used to transmit the display contents from the motor vehicle to the mobile device and to transmit the commands generated by the operating device from the motor vehicle to the mobile device.
It is known furthermore to tag the execution of programs, which are not suitable for execution and for display in the terminal mode during the drive, because they could distract the vehicle driver, with an appropriate attribute and to prevent the displaying of these programs in the terminal mode while driving.
U.S. Publication 20120151214, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method in which the execution of a program in the terminal mode is subject to the successful verification of a digital certificate associated with the program, whereby the method comprises the following steps: Storing a program executable on a mobile device and a digital certificate associated with the program in the mobile device; Transmitting the digital certificate from the mobile device to a motor vehicle; Verifying the digital certificate in the motor vehicle; In the event of the successful verification of the digital certificate: presenting the information associated with the program, executable on the mobile device, by means of a display of the motor vehicle; and Using the program executable on the mobile device by means of a user arrangement, associated with the display, in the motor vehicle. In an embodiment, the certificate is issued by a certification server. The operator of said server certifies by the digital signing of the certificate that the program is suitable for execution in the terminal mode.
In the method described in U.S. 20120151214, the display and operation of the program, executable on the mobile device, by means of the display and operating device of the motor vehicle in the terminal mode are permitted after successful verification of the digital certificate associated with the program. It is assured in this way that only certified programs can be executed.
However, in the conventional art there is, however, the possibility of the improper use of a display and operating device of the motor vehicle in that, following the successful verification of a program associated with a certified program, a non-certified program passes itself off as this program to the display and operating device. If the non-certified program prevents the data transmission of the certified program to the display and operating device, then there is no possibility of detecting the improper use of the display and operating device. It is also conceivable that the non-certified program is executed on the same mobile device as the certified program, as well as that the non-certified program is executed on a second mobile device, which is in the communication path between the first mobile device and the display and operating device of the vehicle, whereby the second mobile device prevents the direct communication between the first mobile device and the display and operating device of the vehicle and passes itself off during the communication with the first mobile device as the display and operating device of the vehicle and vice versa (so-called “man-in-the-middle” attack).